Escambia County officials launched two new tools Wednesday to help residents stay safe and to save lives.

"Know Your Zone" is a new part of the county's website that allows residents to type in their address and find their level of evacuation, routes out of the city, nearby shelters and how the weather could impact their homes.

A new cellphone app, PulsePoint, will alert people of a nearby cardiac arrest so they can respond to the emergency and help until EMS arrives. If that person knows CPR, they can start compressions, and if they don't, they can either learn through the app or be instructed while on the phone with dispatch.

Escambia County EMS EMT Ryan St. Pierre gives a demonstration on how to perform hands-only CPR.(Photo: Emma Kennedy)

PulsePoint

Only 10 percent of people who suffer a cardiac arrest walk out of the hospital without any ongoing issues, said Escambia County EMS Chief Steve White.

But that number greatly improves when the patient receives CPR before going to the hospital.

"What we do know is if hands-only CPR is done before EMS shows up, that number will double or even triple, so that’s people who can walk out of the hospital and celebrate another holiday or another birthday," he said.

The PulsePoint app automatically sends out an alert to anyone within a 1,200-foot radius of the area once dispatchers enter the "cardiac arrest" code into their system.

“The idea is if you’re in one of the big box stores like Walmart or Publix, somebody can go into cardiac arrest in aisle 19 and you’re in aisle 7 and you’d never know somebody needed help,” White said. “Well this will notify you that hey, somebody’s in your vicinity that needs some help.”

EMS has been working on the app for about a year. It is funded through a $26,000 grant from the state.

White said there have already been 1,000 downloads in the last couple of months as the team did a "soft rollout" within the public safety sector.

The app can be downloaded for both Androids and iPhones by searching “PulsePoint” in app stores. The app is being used in more than 2,500 communities across the country, so after it is downloaded, the user will need to select “Escambia County.”

In an effort to get more residents proficient in CPR, White said the department is hosting an all-day CPR course Saturday at Cordova Mall.

Anyone interested can stop by the center area of the mall between 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sessions will run continuously.

Escambia County Emergency Manager John Dosh explains a new Know Your Zone website that allows users to look up potential damage at their home during hurricanes.(Photo: Emma Kennedy)

Know Your Zone

When tropical weather approaches the coast, residents need to know their evacuation zone, how to find shelter and other information that provides context for storm surges.

The "Know Your Zone" website, which is part of the county’s website, aims to provide those resources. The website allows users to pull up an artist's depiction of their house and toggle between different levels of storm surge.

They also can find resources if they have to evacuate and get a gauge of the impact on their neighborhood.

Escambia County Emergency Manager John Dosh said the devastating impacts of storm surge are often overlooked.

“Storm surge is one of the biggest killers when it comes to hurricanes,” he said. “Everybody tends to talk about the winds, but it’s storm surge that causes the majority of the damage and actually takes the majority of the lives. We highly encourage people to visit the site, be aware of what the impacts are at their homes and businesses and to make sure they understand and take the appropriate steps to protect their property.”